Shuttle checking device for weaving machines



Oct. 8, 1957 E. PFARRWALLER SHUTTLE CHECKING DavxcE Foa wEAvING MAcHINEs Filed Nov. 2, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 6 7 M 3 SM 6u .2 3 .41H 2 0 2 1 .2 w

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Oct. 8, 1957 SHUTTLE CHECKING DEVICE FOR WEAVING MACHINES Filed Nov. 2, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ERW/N PFARRWALLF? BY KA A r To @Ne-K E. PFARRWALLER 2,808,853

Oct. 8, 1957 E. PFARRWALLER 2,808,853

SHUTTLE CHECKING DEVICEl WEAVING MACHINES Filed Nov. 2, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 .9 Fig/0 "03- Fig. 7l

IN V EN TOR. 108 [RW/N PFAPRWA L LE' f1 A T TORNEK United .Seite Patent 01] SHUTTLE CHECKING DEVICE FOR WEAVIING MACHINES Erwin Pfarrwaller, Winterthur, Switzerland, assignor to Sulzer Freres, S. A., Winterthur, Switzerland, a corporation of Switzerland Application November 2, 1955, Serial No. 544,536 Claims priority, appiication Switzerland December 4, 1954 12 Claims. (Cl. 139-426) The present invention relates to 2L Safety device for weaving machines of the type having gripper shuttles to the grippers of which the weft thread iS Presented by means of thread feeders and in which at least a portion of the opened thread clamp of the shuttle moves astride a clamp mounted on the thread feeder for holding a weft thread to be presented to the shuttle.

According to the invention a checking device is provided in the path of the shuttle which device has a head portion whose cross section resembles the cross section of the portion of the weft thread feeder which passes through the opened shuttle clamp. This head portion is adapted to move through the opened thread clamp of the shuttle, a clearance being providedl between the interior edges of the opened thread clamp of the shuttle and the inside of an opening in the shuttle, i. e., the space through which a partof the thread clamp of the thread feeder passes, and the exterior edges of the head portion of the checking device, which clearance avoids contact between the checking device and the opened clamp of the shuttle and the inside of the opening of the shuttle body.

The novel features whih are considered characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in theA appended claims. The invention itself however and additional objects and advantages thereof will best be understood from the following description of embodiments thereof when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Figure l is a schematic view of a weaving machine seen from the fabric side;

Figure 2 is a part sectional side view, taken on line li-ll of Fig. 3, of a shuttle carrier including an opener for the shuttle clamp, the figure also showing a control clement according to the invention;

Figure 3 is a part sectional rear View of the device shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the relative cross sections of mating parts of a shuttle, of a weft thread feeder, and of a control member according to the invention;

Figure 5 is a part sectional diagrammatic illustration of a drive mechanism for a shuttle carrier in the position caused by an irregular condition of the Shuttle;

Figures 6, 7 and 8 diagrammatically illustrate relative positions of the clamp end of a shuttle `and the clamp checking member according to the invention, at three different conditions ofthe shuttle; Y

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic side view of a `shuttle-carrier, weft thread feeders, shuttle checking device, and drive mechanism for the shuttle carrier, the arrangement of the weft thread feeders and of the shuttle checking member being a modification of that shown in Figure 5;

Figure 10 is a diagrammatic end view of a shuttle receiving mechanism provided with a shuttle checking device according to the invention;

Figure ll is a part sectional top view of the mechanism Shown in' Figure 110; f

2,808,853 Patented Oef. 8, 41957 Figure 12 is a longitudinal part sectional view of a shuttle return conveyor and a shuttle checking device associated with the conveyer.

The same numerals designate the same parts in all figures. y

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1 of the drawing the drive of the loom includes a motor 11 which is mounted on a right side shield 12 and which drives a belt pulley 14 by means of a belt 13. A disc clutch mounted in the pulley 14 and not shown drives the main shaft 15 of the loom. The shaft l5 primarily drives the parts of the loom which must be moved continuously or inter mittently during normal operation of the loom. The shaft 15 actuates, inter alia, a warp beam 16 and the warp 17 which moves through heddles supported by a plurality of frames 18, the latter being actuated by they shaft 15 for opening, closing, and changing of the shed. The shaft 15 also actuatesa control beam 19 and a cloth beam 20 for winding the cloth 21.

A picking mechanism 22 and a shuttle receiving mech, anism 23 are actuated at the correct moments by the shaft 15 by means of intermediate drives.

The shaft 15 also reciprocatingly actuates a lay 28 including a reed 29 through suitable mechanism (notl shown) for beating up the weft.

A weft thread 24 is transferred to a shuttle 25 in the picking mechanism 22. The weft thread is pulled from a spool 27 supported by a carrier 26 outside of the shuttle 25 and is picked by the shuttle 25 through the shed towards the. receiving mechanism 23, whereupon the weft thread 24 is beaten up by means of the lay 28.

The shuttle 25, after the weft thread 24 has been disengaged therefrom, is moved onto a return mechanism 3d by suitable means, not shown, in the shuttle receiving mechanism 2 3. The return mechanism, driven by the main shaft 15, returns the idle shuttles 25 below the shed from the receiving mechanism 23 to the picking mechanism .2.2.

A dlve 32 for the control beam 19 is mounted on a left side shield 12a which is connected with the right side Shield 12 by mGIS .0f ka box girder 31 to form a rigid frame for the weaving machine.

Control leavers 33 and a control shaft 34 afford actul ation of the above mentioned clutch by means of a linkage 35 and of a brake disk 37 by means of a linkage 36 for `effecting starting .and stopping of the loom from various localities around the loom. The brake, which is in a housing 37 and asis on the main shaft 15, is applied at improper operating `conditions after disengagement of the clutch in the belt pulley' 14 for immediately stopping the main Shaft .15 and all parts driven thereby.

The brake in the housing 37 is disengaged in known manner by means of the control levers 33 without engaging the clutch in the disc 14. Thereupon the disconnected main shaft v15 can be turned by means of a handwheel 38, for example for adjusting individual loom parts to assume a desired angular position relative to zero position of the main shaft.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the lower end of a shuttle carrier 40, for example as shown in my copending application Ser. No. 376,780, tiled August 27, 1953, rocking on a shaft 41 mounted 'on the loom A.frame and being moved from the illustrated vertical shuttle receiving po,- Sition t0 the horizontal shuttle picking position is Provided with a channel 4.3. Ihe shuttle l25 is moved into the channel 43 from the left to the right, as seen in Fig. 3, by means of the shuttle Yreturn mechanism 3,0 until an opening 44 in the shuttle is placed into the plane in which a clamp opener 45 is movable. The latter, when actuated by means of a link 46, swings o n the shaft 41` The rig-ht end of the shuttle receiving channel 43 in the `shuttle carrier 40 is partly closed by a cover 47.

A thread clamp 48 of a weft thread feeder, which may be constructed in the form of pliers, is shown in Figs. 2 and 3 in the position for transferring a weft thread 24 which is clamped between the ja'ws 49 of the clamp 48 to the clamp of a shuttle 25. A.` space 51 is provided at the right side of the jaws or grippers 49 between the legs of the clamp 48. The portion of the thread 24 extending through the space 51 is gripped, for example as shown in my application for Letters Patent Ser. No. 376,780, tiled August 27, 1953, bythe jaws 52 of the thread clamp 53 of the shuttle 25 when the latter is in the upper position which is shown by dash-dot lines in Fig. 3. If there is only one thread feeder which is reciprocated exclusively in the picking line, the clamp 53 of the shuttle is only partly passed along the web portion 62 of the lower leg of the clamp 48 of the thread feeder.

A control member 55, whose foot 56 is connectedwith a frame part 58 of the weaving machine by means of a screw 57 or in any other suitable conventional manner, is provided in the space dened by imaginary cylindrical surfaces 54 through which space travels the clamp end of the shuttle moved by the shuttle carrier 40 from its lower or receiving position to the horizontal upper or picking position. The cross section of the head 59 of the control member 55 is shaped as shown in Figures 2 and 3 and circularly curved in its longitudinal extension as shown in Fig. 2 to correspond to the path of the shuttle which is rocked on the axis of the shaft 41 when it is transferred by the shuttle carrier 40 which also rocks on the axis of the shaft 41. The control member 55 is placed in the path of the shuttle 25 before the shuttle meets the clamp 48 of the thread feeder.

AThe thickness of the web portion 61 of the member 55 is greater than the thickness of the web portion 62 of the legs of the thread clamp 48 as seen when inspecting the upper ends of the dash-dot arcs 63 in Fig. 2. The arcs 64 in Fig. 2 show that the head 59 of the control member 55 is wider than the greatest width of the jaws 48 of the weft thread feed clamp 49. In Fig. 4 the cross sections of the control member 55 and of the jaws 43 are superimposed to demonstrate that the cross section of the control member 55 is all around somewhat greater than the cross section of the parts 49 and 62 of the thread clamp 48 of the thread feeder which parts traverse the thread clamp 52 of the shuttle.

v As shown in Fig. 5, the shuttle carrier 40 is actuated by a two-arm lever 66 one arm of which is provided with a roller 69 following a groove 68 in a drum 67, the other arm of the lever 66 being connected with the shuttle carrier by means of a link 42. A shaft 71 supporting the drum`67 is rotated by and at the same speed as the main shaft of the loom. The fulcrum` 72 of the lever 66 is` supported by a bearing 73. The latter is mounted on a plate 74 which is movable in a guide 75.

Springs 76 and 77 tend to retain the bearing '73 in a central position in which the conical end of a pin 78 rests in a corresponding conical recess 79 in the plate 74. The pin 78 is vertically movably mounted in the guide 75 and is pressed downward by means of an arm 81 which extends from a conventional loom stop shaft 82, the latter being urged to rotate clockwise by a weight or a spring or other suitable means, not shown.

If the safety device according to the invention is used in a loom having a plurality of thread feeders, which are arranged, for example, on an arc of a thread changing device 83, whereby the center of the arc is located in the longitudinal axis of the shaft 41 and the thread feeder clamps are traversed by the open clamp 53 of the shuttle 25 as it is moved toward picking position, the control member 55 is placed to be passed by the shuttle clamp before the latter passes the thread clamps 48 of the thread feeders.

The device operates as follows:

'After the shuttle 25 has been moved by the return 4 mechanism 30 from left to right (Fig. 3) into the channel 43 of the shuttle carrier 4G which is in the shuttle receiving position, the shuttle clamp opener 45 is swung counterclockwise from the position shown in dash-dot lines in Fig. 2 until the thorn 84 of the clamp opener is inserted in the opening 44 of the shuttle bodyy and between protuberances of the shuttle thread -clamp 53 for opening the clamp. When the thorn 84 has reached the clamp opening position shown in solid lines in Fig. 2, the shuttle carrier 40 as well as the clamp opener 45 are rocked on the shaft 41.

There is a clearance 87 between the web 61 and the clamping faces of the jaws 52 and there is a clearance 92 between all sides of the head 59 of the control member 55 and the jaws 83 and 89 of the clamp and the edges of a recess 91 in the body of the shuttle 25. The size of the clearance 37 may be different from that of the clearance 92 as long as contact between the control member 55 and the clamp 53 and the opening 91 is avoided.

rThe free space 86 (Fig. 4) Within the open shuttle clamp 53 must afford unhindered passage of the clamps 48 of the thread feeders. This is checked at each shuttle by the member 55.

In the position of the device shown in Fig. 5, the shuttle carrier 40 has moved somewhat from the shuttle'receiving position toward the picking position. If the opener 45 failed to open the thread clamp 53 of the shuttle 25, the closed clamp 53 abuts against the head 59 of the control member 55, as shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. V7 illustrates a situation in which the upper leg or prong 88 of the thread clamp 53 'of the shuttle is broken. If for any reason the broken part has moved to the left between the shuttle body and the remaining portion of the leg 88, thethorn 84 of the opener 45 may freely enter the opening 44, because the protuberance 85 of the leg 88 has also moved to the left. The lower leg 89 of the clamp 53 is thereby moved into the open position while the jaw portion 52 of the upper leg S8 of the clamp 53 extends into the space 86 obstructing passage of the head 59 of the control member 55 through the shuttle.

If the shuttle 25 cannot pass beyond the control member (Fig. 5) because, for example, the closed thread clamp 53 (Fig. 6) or the broken jaw 62 (Fig. 7) abuts against the head 59, the upper arm of the lever 66 cannot move to the right (in Fig. 5) upon continued rotation of the drum 67. Therefore the fulcrurn 72, the bearing 73, and the plate 74 will be moved to the left against the action of the spring 77 so that the conical end of the pin 78 is lifted out of the cavity 79. Consequently, the arm 81 aud the shaft 82 are revolved in counterclockwise direction, effecting stoppage of the weaving machine in known manner, for example by disconnecting the main shaft of the loom from the driving motor.

A similar situation (Fig. 8) arises when the shuttle 25 (Fig. 3) is moved too far (to the right) into the channel 43 of the shuttle carrier 40. A cylindrical abutment element 60 is longitudinaly movably supported in the frame portion 5S, the rear end of the element 60 being provided with annular groves 60a adapted to receive the free end of a plate spring 70 whose other end is made fast on the frame 58 and which presses the element 60 to the left until the spring 70 rests on the frame 58. In this position the left end of the element 60 which abuts against the end of a shuttle holds the latter in the correct position. If the shuttle is moved too far to the right, as shown in Fig. 8, the body of the shuttle abuts against the control member 55 because the latter extends beyond the opening 91 n the shuttle. The shuttle carrier 40 can therefore not move and the loom is stopped due to the movement of the fulcrum 72 to the left, as described above.

If the shuttle clamp 53 is opened or the shuttle having a defective clamp is removed and the shuttle with the" A opened clamp or a subsequent shuttle affords passage of the control member 55, the plate 74 and the bearing 73 move to the right into their central positions. The pin 78 descends into the cavity 79 and the loom stopping shaft 82 returns into normal operating position so that the loom can be restarted.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 5 in which the thread changing device 83 has only three thread feeders with thread clamps 4S, there is space for the control member 55 at the right side of the shuttle carrier 40, when the latter is in the vertical or shuttle receiving position. in a device in which the shuttle carrier is horizontal when in the picking position the thread clamp -53 of the shuttle 25 can be controlled as shown in Fig. 5.

If, however, as shown in Fig. 9, four or more thread feeders are provided, it is not possible to locate a control member at the rightA side of the shuttle carrier 4G into the channel 43 of which the shuttles are pushed when the carrier is in vertical position. In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 9 the control member 93 is placed on the left side of the shuttle carrier 40. The groove 94 in the drum 95, which corresponds to the drum 67 in Fig. 5, is so shaped that the portion 96 of the groove effects movement of the roller 69 to the right prior to movement of the roller to the left for moving the' shuttle carrier towards the shuttle picking position.

The shuttle carrier 40 performs a control movement in clockwise direction prior to being moved towards the shuttle picking position so that the shuttle 25 is initially moved to the left towards the control member 93. The latter checks the shuttle clamp 53 which has been opened by the thorn S4 of the opener 45. Thereupon the direction of movement of the shuttle carrier 40 is reversed. When the roller 69 moves into the portion 97 of the guide groove 94 the lever 66 revolves clockwise, moving the link 42 to the right and lifting the shuttle carrier 40 to the horizontal picking posi-tion.

If, due to some irregularity, the control member 93 prevents the control movement in clockwise direction of the shuttle 25, the shuttle carrier 40 and the link 42 actuating the shuttle carrier, cannot move to the extreme left position in Figure 9. Because of the continued movement of the roller 69 to the right effected by the groove portion 96 the bearing 73 and its support plate 74 are pushed to the right against the action of the spring 76. The pin 78 is thereby lifted out of the cavity 79 and turns the arm 81 and the shaft 82 in counterclockwise direction. This movement of the shaft 82 causes stoppage of the weaving machine in the conventional manner. In

order to prevent the shuttle 25 from being pushed out of l the channel 43 of the shuttle carrier a longer cover S0 than the cover 47 in Fig. 2 must be provided.

lThe shuttle clamp 53 may also be checked while the shuttle is in the shuttle receiving mechanism 23 (Figure l). Such an arrangement is illustrated in Figures l() and ll, the shuttle 25 having arrived in the receiving mechanism 23 and its movement having been braked by a brake 98, for example, as disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 2,702,- 054. A shuttle clamp opener thorn 99 has been lowered for spreading apart the legs of the clamp 53 in the shuttle 25. Simultaneously a lever 102 is turned counterclockwise by means of a link 101. The latter is actuated by u. mechanism similar to that shown in Figure 5 for actuating the link 42. The end of the lever 102 is bent at a right angle and forms a head 103 corresponding to the head 59 of the previously described embodiments of the invention. If the clamp 53 is open, the lever 102 can be moved to assume a horizontal position. If, however, the head 103 abuts against at least one leg of the clamp 53 because the latter is closed or broken, a shaft corresponding to the shaft 82 in Figures 5 and 9 is rocked causing stoppage of the weaving machine. if the shuttle has been found in good order by the control member 102, 103, operation of the loom is not interrupted and 6 the umm f`99` as wen as the head los are withdrawn upwardly out of the clamp 53, whereuponytheV shuttle pusher 104 is moved to theleft for pushing the shuttle 25 itno a channel 105 from which the shuttle drops onto a shuttle return conveyer 30. The last mentioned elements are known in the art and are disclosed, ,for example, in Patent No. 2,702,054. Con-trol of the shuttle which has been received in the shuttle receiving mechanism -is of advantage because here the control element is visible and a defective shuttle can easily be removed and interchanged for another shuttle.

In a modification of the device according vto the inven tion which is illustrated inl-iig. 12 the shuttle clamp 53 is checked while theshutt'le is on the return .conveyor 30. The latter includes a chain 107 having pusher links 108 which move with the chain Vfrom the shuttle .receiving station 23 at the right side of the 1oom,va`s seen in Figure l, to the shuttle picking station 22 .at the left side of the loom, at a speed which is considerably smaller than 'the speed at which the shuttle is picked through the shed. The shuttle check-ing mechanism is housed in la casing 109 of inverted U-shaped cross sectional configuration which is mounted on the loom frame above the chain 107, the opening of the U facing the chain. A slide Y1.11 is arranged between the 'lateral walls '110 of the casing 109, the slide being provided with laterally projecting pin-s 112. The free ends of the pins 112 are individually received in grooves 120 having portions 113, 118, 119 provided in the inside of the lateral walls 110.

A shuttle clamp opener thorn 114 and a control member 115 project downwardly from the ,slide '111.

The chain 107 of the conveyer 30 is slidably supported from below underneath the casing 109 by means of la stationary guide 117 which may be mounted on thelateral. walls 110 of the casinglil. The slide 111 is actuated by means of a link 116 which is driven lby a mechanism similar to that shown in Figure 5, the link 116 corresponding to `the link 42 in Figure 5.

The groove in the can drum is so shaped, lthat the slide 111 is moved from righ-t to left in Figure 12 at the same speed at which the shuttle is moved bythe conveyer 30 from right to left. Upon entry of the pins 112 into the downwardly extending portions 118 of the `guide grooves at the insid-e of the `side walls 110, the slide 111 and the Ithorn 114 as well as the control member 1-15 move downwardly toward the shuttle 25. The thorn 114 opens the clamp 5'3 in the shuttle 25, the control member ,1;15, which is shorter .than the thorn '114, subsequently Inoving downward towards the jaw end ofthe shuttle clamp vto check whether the clamp .is open or whether there is any obstruction -in the opening of the shuttle body.

y'Ihe horizontal speed of the slide 1111V is equal to that of the ychain 107 so that the checking operation can 'be performed while thev shuttle is returned to the shuttle picking station. When the pins 1512 enter the upwardly sloped portions 119 of the guide grooves 1-13 the slide 111 is lifted and the control mem-ber 115 as well as the thorn 114 are withdrawn from the Vshuttle clamp453. The space between the lower portions of the side walls 110 is smaller than the 'width of the shuttle 25 so that the shuttles remain on the conveyor 30 and are not pulled into the casing 109, upon upward movement of Ithe slide 1I-1.,

Upon movement of the yslide 111 .from left to right, the pins 112 move in the horizontal and straight upper portions 120 of the grooves 113, iiaps 121 being provided which can swing upwards -but vnot downwards for preventing return of the pins 112 to fthe groove portions 119. Checking of the lthread clamp v5'3 of the shuttle 25 while the latter is returned to the shuttle picking station is of particular advantage in weaving machines provided with a greater number of weft thread Vfeeders because a special checking movement as i-s required `with .a mechanism as shown in Figure 9, is avoided and no additional time is needed for checking the shuttles.

lIn Iall modifications of the invention theV relative conguration of the conical end ofthe thorn '84 of the shuttle clamp opener and of the cross section of the opening 44 in the shuttle body is so that the thorn 84 longitudinally places the shuttle in the correct position relative to the control mem'ber 55. AIf the shuttle 55 has been pushed too far or not far enough into the channel 43 of the shuttle carrier 40 the opening 44 in the shuttle body is not exactly in line with the point of the thorn 84 (Figure 3). yIf the thorn 84 is inserted into the opening of an incorrectly positioned shuttle, the conical end of the thorn will abut against the left or right edge of the opening 44 and will center the shuttle 25 upon continuation of the inserting movement of the thorn 34 by moving the shuttle to the left or to the right. The abutment described supra pushed a shuttle, which has 'been moved too far to the right into the channel 43, to the left until the spring 70 rests on the frame portion 58.

What is claimed is:

l. A checking device for the thread clamp of a gripper shuttle in a loom for weaving including means for moving `the shuttle from a shuttle receiving station to a shuttle picking station, means for presenting a weft thread to the shuttle, the shuttle having a body, an opening in said body, a thread clamp mounted in the shuttle and having legs traversing said opening, a clamp opener having a thorn adap-ted to enter said opening lfor spreading said legs apart for opening said clamp, a control member having a head portion adapted to enter into the opened clamp of the shuttle While the shuttle or the control member or both are moved, said head portion abutting against at least one leg of the thread clamp if the latter fails to open or is broken, and means responsive to a failure :of relative movement of the shuttle and of said control member due to abutment of said head against a leg of the thread clamp.

2. A device as defined in claim l includin-g a shuttle carrier, a shuttle return mechanism transporting the shut 'de from the receiving station into said carrier, said carrier being adapted to move the shuttle from said return mechanism into the shuttle picking position, said shuttle clamp opener being associated with said shuttle carrier for opening the shuttle While said shuttle is moved 4by said carrier, said means for presenting a weft thread to the shuttle including a weft thread clamp adapted vto enter the opened shuttle clamp, said control member -being stationary and its head portion being interposed in the path of the shuttle moved by said carrier and extending into the opened shuttle 4clamp upon movement of the shuttle past said control member.

3. A -device as defined in c'laim l in which said control member is arranged in the shuttle receiving station.

4. A device as defined in claim l including a shuttle return conveyer for returning the shuttle from the shuttle receiving station to the shuttle picking station, said control member being operatively associated with said return conveyer.

5. A device according to claim 4, said conveyor carrying the shuttle, and said control member being movable parallel to and in the direction and at the speed of the movement of the shuttle on said conveycr and being reciprocatingly movable towards and from the shutle, said control member being provided with a thorn for opening the shuttle clamp and with ahead portion entering the opened shuttle upon movement of said control member towards the shuttle.

6. A device as dened in claim l including a shuttle carrier having a shuttle receiving position and a shuttle picking position, a shuttle return mechanism for conveying the shuttle from the shuttle receiving station to said shuttle carrier, said control member being arranged adjacent to said shuttle carrier when the latter is in the position for receiving a shuttle. y

7. A device as dened in claim 1 including a shuttle carrier, a shuttle return mechanism transporting the shuttle from the receiving station into said carrier, said carrier' beingadapted to move the shuttle from said return mechanism into the shuttle picking position, a shuttle opener associated with said shuttle carrier for opening the shuttle while said shuttle is moved by said carrier, said means for presenting a weft thread to the shuttle including a plurality of weft thread feeders, each feeder having a weft thread feeder clamp adapted to enter the opened shuttle clamp, said weft thread feeder clamps being arranged in the path of the clamp of the shuttle moved by said shuttle carrier from said return mechanism to the shuttle picking position, said control member being stationary and its head portion being interposed in the path of the shuttle moved by said shuttle carrier between said shuttle carrier when in the position for receiving a shuttle from said return mechanism and the iirst of said weft thread feeder clamps passed by the shuttle when moving towards the shuttle picking position, said head portion extending into the opened shuttle clamp upon movement of the shuttle by said shuttle carrier past said control member.

8. A device as defined in claim l including a shuttlev carrier, a shuttle return mechanism transporting the shuttle from the receiving station into said carrier, said carrier being adapted to move the shuttle from said return mechanism into the shuttle picking position, a shuttle opener' associated with said shuttle carrier for opening the shuttle while said shuttle is moved by said carrier, said means for presenting a weft thread to the shuttle including a plurality of weft feeders, each feeder having a weft thread feeder clamp adapted to enter the opened shuttle clamp, said weft thread feeder clamps being arranged in the path of the clamp of the shuttle moved by said shuttle carrier from said return mechanism to the shuttle picking position, said control member being stationary and its` head portion being arranged on the side of said shuttle carrier when the latter is in the position for receiving a shuttle from said return mechanism which side is distal of said weft thread feeder clamps, means for initially moving said shuttle carrier from the position in which the shuttle carrier receives a shuttle from said return mechanism, in opposite direction to the direction of the subsequent movement of said shuttle carrier towards the shuttle picking position, said head portion being interposed in the path of the shuttle during the initial movement of said shuttle carrier, said head portion extending into the opened shuttle clamp upon movement of the shuttle by said shuttle carrier past said control member.

9. A device as defined in claim l in which a clearance is provided between said head portion and the opened shuttle clamp and said shuttle body for avoiding contact of said head portion with said shuttle clamp and with said shuttle body during the checking operation.

l0. A device according to claim 9 in which said means for presenting a weft thread to the shuttle include a weft thread feeder having a thread clamp adapted to enter in part the opened shuttle clamp, the cross section of said head portion having substantially the same configuration and being at least as great as the cross section of the part of thread clamp of the weft thread feeder which part is adapted to enter the opened shuttle clamp.

1l. A device as defined in claim l, said means for moving the shuttle from a shuttle receiving station to a shuttle picking station including a shuttle return mechanism and a shuttle carrier for transporting a shuttle from said return mechanism to the picking station, said shuttle carrier having a channel adapted to receive a shuttle from said return mechanism, a shuttle clamp opener associated with said shuttle carrier for opening the shuttle clamp while the shuttle is in said channel, a yieldingly supported abutment member adapted to be abutted by the shuttle received in said channel for returning a shuttle which has 9 10 entered the channel too far to the correct position in said end portion for placing the shuttle in the correct position channel relatively to said head portion. relatively to said head portion upon entry of said thorn 12. A device as dened in claim 1 in which said thorn into said opening for opening the shuttle clamp.

has a cross sectional conguration substantially conformmg with the cross section of said opening and has a conical 5 N0 references Cited. 

